Newtown meets the olfactory lexicon
- juliesmithaawl
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Video by me
An olfactory lexicon for inner-city suburbs often blends artificial, industrial, and dense residential odors with unexpected, transient, or organic scents. These smellscapes can be categorized into various clusters including emissions, food, nature, and waste.
Industrial & Technical Emissions
Acrid: Strong, bitter, and unpleasant, often from exhaust or burning.
Petrol/Gasoline: The smell of traffic fumes, a dominant city scent.
Sulfurous/Smoky: Often associated with old industry or coal-heated areas.
Metallic: The aroma of subway systems, train tracks, or metal shops.
Burnt/Chemoar: Burnt chemical aroma.
Asphalt/Tar: The sharp, hot smell of road surfacing on hot days.
Residential, Urban & Food
Alliaceous (Garlic/Onion):Common in densely packed residential areas.
Savory: Scent of cooking from restaurants or residential windows.
Cleekleap: A specific term for sautéing garlic.
Béchame: A creamy, savory scent.
Stale: Lack of fresh air, often found in old buildings or alleys.
Frowsty: Stale and stuffy, often from a lack of ventilation.
Butteryearn: The distinct scent of a cinema, often found in entertainment districts.
Environmental & Organic Decay
Musty/Damp: Associated with old, dark spaces, brick, and basements.
Fetid/Putrid/Rank: Strong decay, often from garbage, alleyways, or waste.
Beausty: A specialized term for the scent of sewage.
Basidiomycetor: The aroma of mold, fungi, or mushrooms in damp, shady areas.
Chthonirooted: Smelling like subterranean roots or damp soil in small urban parks.
Atmospheric & Temporal
Adiposoitrous: A heavy, fatty smell that hangs in the air, common in areas with many fast-food outlets.
Dewore: The smell of morning dew when it hits sunlight in urban environments.
Whiff: A temporary, light scent of something passing by, like exhaust or food.
Pungent: A sharp, strong scent that can be positive (spices) or negative (waste).
General Urban Smell Descriptors
Redolent: Evocative; can refer to a pleasant smell (e.g., a bakery).
Mephitic: Stinking; usually associated with noxious gases.
Odouriferous: Strong smell, often unpleasant.
Funky: Strong and unpleasant (or sometimes simply intense).
The olfactory lexicon for pharmaceutical, medicinal, and synthetic perfume smells includes terms that describe sharp, chemical, and antiseptic odor profiles often created by synthetic aroma chemicals. These notes are frequently used to add "lift," modernity, or a clean, "high-definition" quality to fragrances.
Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Lexicon
Antiseptic: A sterile, clean smell, often associated with harsh cleaning agents or alcohol.
Medicinal: A general term for scents resembling medication, iodine, or camphor.
Camphorated: Cool, pungent, and medicinal, often from herbs like thyme or eucalyptus.
Iodine/Iodine-like: A sharp, salty, sterile smell, often used in trace amounts.
Phenolic/Para-cresol: Medicinal, industrial, or honey-like odors.
Mentholated: A cooling, minty, industrial freshness.
Metallic: A cold, sharp, iron-like sensation.
Synthetic & Chemical Lexicon
Aldehydic: Used to describe a "fizz" or "sparkle," similar to aldehydes in Chanel No. 5. They provide a clean, high-definition quality—like the scent of fresh air or crisp laundry.
Aroma Chemicals: Laboratory-created molecules used to mimic natural scents or create new ones, such as Iso E Super, Calone, or Ambroxan.
"Himozny" (Chemical Slang): A term for an overly industrial, "unnatural" smell.
Plastic/Celluloid: Often used to describe certain vanilla notes that recall synthetic materials, or "dolls' heads" (heliotropin/anisic aldehyde).
Marker Pen/Paracresol: A sharp, synthetic note described as smelling like a permanent marker.
White Glue: A scent associated with anisic aldehyde or coumarin.
Diesel/Gasoline: A sharp, often negative description caused by an excess of certain green notes, such as cis-3-hexenol.
Amber Woods: Synthetic molecules (like Karanal) that can feel aggressive or "piercing" to the nose.
Common Synthetic Compounds & Their Descriptions
Calone: Creates a fresh marine, iodine, or oyster-like scent.
Iso E Super: A woody, velvety, skin-like synthetic.
Ambroxan: A synthetic substitute for ambergris, often described as woody, musky, and amber-like.
Galaxolide/Habanolide: Synthetic musks, often described as soapy, powdery, or "clean bed sheets".
Descriptive "Feel" Terms
Sharp/Pungent: Aggressive top notes that can feel stinging.
Sterile/Clinical: Lacking natural, organic complexity.
Linear: A fragrance that does not change over time, typical of some synthetic compositions
The olfactory lexicon for Italian restaurant smells centers on warm, aromatic, and savory notes, featuring terms like profumo (good smell), aroma (strong aroma), and odori (smells). Common aromatic descriptors include pungent, herbaceous, earthy, and nutty, highlighting ingredients like garlic, basil, tomato, oregano, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Common Italian Smell Descriptors
Profumo: Good smell, often used for food.
Aroma: A strong scent, particularly for herbs and spices.
Odore: A neutral smell.
Puzza: A bad smell (used if something is burnt or spoiled).
Sentire (Verb): To smell or feel with the nose (e.g., "Sento l'odore del ragù" - I smell the meat sauce).
Specific Italian Restaurant Scents
Aromatico: Herbaceous, fresh (basil, oregano, rosemary).
Pungente: Sharp and intense (garlic, aged cheese).
Tostato: Toasted or smoky (from wood-fired pizza ovens).
Burroso/Grasso: Fatty, rich, or creamy (butter, olive oil).
Dolce: Sweet, often describing simmering tomato sauce or pastries.
Agro/Aspro: Sour or sharp (balsamic vinegar, wine).
Common Phrases for Scents
"Che buon profumo!": What a lovely smell!.
"Sento profumo di aglio e basilico.": I smell garlic and basil.
"Il ristorante ha un odore accogliente.": The restaurant has a cozy smell
Words in the olfactory lexicon that describe alley smells often focus on decay, dampness, and industrial refuse. These smells are generally described as fetid, pungent, and musty.
Here is a breakdown of olfactory terms for alley smells:
General Foulness & Decay
Putrid: The smell of severe decay and rotten trash.
Fetid/Foetid: Decaying, stagnant, or rotting smells.
Rank: A very strong, unpleasant, or stagnant smell.
Stench/Reek: A strong, offensive, and overwhelming odor.
Rotten: Spoiled, unpalatable odor.
Noisome: Extremely disgusting; often used for sewer odors.
Gamy: The smell of decaying meat or rotting fish.
Damp & Stale
Musty: An old, stale smell, often indicating mold or damp, stagnant air.
Mildewed/Mildewy: A damp, fungus-like odor from wetness.
Dank: Unpleasantly damp and cold.
Frowsty: Stale, smelling of a lack of air.
Sharp & Industrial
Pungent: A sharp, stinging odor (e.g., ammonia or chemical waste).
Acrid: A sharp, bitter, stinging smell, often from burning or chemicals.
Metallic: A sharp, industrial scent, like rust or old pipes.
Skunky: A strong, lingering smell.
Alley-Specific Scents
Doggy: Odor of wet fur or unwashed animals.
Acid/Sour: Vinegary or rotten odors.
Chemical/Plastic: Artificial polymer odors.
Sooty/Smoky: Odors of burnt, carbonized material.
Beausty: A neologism for the scent of sewage.
Dewdeath: A neologism for an ammonia/rotting smell indicating decomposition.
Descriptors of Intensity
Heady: A strong, overwhelming odor.
Overpowering: Too strong to bear.
Redolent: Having a strong, permeating odor.
ALL INFORMATION FROM GOOGLE AI
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